


so I bet all I have on that furrowed brow

by toad_in_the_road



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Brotherhood of the Dark Kingdom (Disney), F/M, Heir to the Dark Kingdom Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider, Hurt No Comfort, I mean it's mitski, Minor Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel, Minor Violence, Mommy Issues, Moondrop | Moonstone Opal (Disney), Mother-Son Relationship, Songfic, Swordfighting, The Dark Kingdom (Disney: Tangled), Title from a Mitski Song, and then i promptly made like eight more, and this is the result, i have many headcanons about eugene's mom, im gay, per usual, remember how i said i would never write a songfic again, what do you expect
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:40:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28471011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/toad_in_the_road/pseuds/toad_in_the_road
Summary: The newly crowned Queen of the Dark Kingdom was so sure her life had finally turned around from desperation when she married the love of her life.Even if that closed chamber door is rather ominous.
Relationships: Adira & Hector & Quirin (Disney: Tangled), Edmund & Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider, Edmund/Eugene Fitzherbert's Mother (Disney: Tangled), Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel
Comments: 2
Kudos: 25





	so I bet all I have on that furrowed brow

**Author's Note:**

> girl help in order to get the eugene mom content i crave i must create it myself. this was written and rewritten approximately four times and it spiraled into a funky AU that somehow still has a bad ending!!! i chose angst
> 
> anyway, we end 2020 with some angst, and start it with gay shit!!! that's how we like it!!!!
> 
> also, this woman has no name, is defined only by her husband and son, and everyone forgot about her? guys, 'me and my husband' by mitski is LITERALLY her song. put some respect on my girlie

Queen Xael Macanaz of the Dark Kingdom had never been afraid of her husband before. And it was all the rock’s fault. 

This...this Moonstone, or whatever Edmund called it, had at first been a minor curiosity. She had always had a weak spot for shiny things, even if she had never seen the shiny thing, and joked with her husband a few times that she might very well steal it.

The Brotherhood-never big fans of the king’s tramp wife, except for Quirin sometimes-always rolled her eyes, but Edmund always acted like it was the best joke he had ever heard. 

The change because of it had been very subtle, though now Xael cursed herself for not noticing sooner. It had started, she believed, when Edmund’s father died. In honesty, Xael breathed a small sigh of relief when the Grim Reaper came for the former Dark King. He was a sour little man, and sickness only made him worse, and Xael had long past given up on trying to make friends with her father-in-law, simply going out of her way to avoid him.

She stood by Edmund’s side as he died, though. She wouldn’t leave him for that. Edmund’s father spent his dying breaths cursing Edmund for choosing a peasant Spanish bitch as his queen. Xael stood quietly, unable to find the heart to get angry with a man in the throes of death.

When he finally stopped gasping, she took Edmund’s hand. “I’m sorry.” She said quietly, squeezing it.

Edmund had taken a deep breath, pulled away gently, and then left the room without a word, leaving Xael alone with the corpse that still seemed to stare at her through half-closed eyes. It followed her around in dreams for weeks, and so did Edmund’s stoic silence. 

She told herself that Edmund was grieving in his own way, or maybe not grieving at all. In any case, she put it out of her mind, occupying herself with queenly duties and pranking the Brotherhood. Or rather, Hector and whoever happened to be standing closest to him at the time, which was usually another member of the Brotherhood. 

The second thing she noticed was when she had been pregnant. 

“We should discuss names.” She said, idly, lying on her back, skimming a rather thick book that used too much flowery language and too few pictures. 

“There’s no need,” Edmund said, digging around for a lost quill. “I already picked it out.”

Xael sat up so quickly her head spun. “ _Disculpe?!_ ” She tossed the book aside. “Isn’t that something we need to decide together?!”

“It’s tradition to name the child after family members who have passed,” Edmund shrugged. “I’m not going to break the tradition now.”

“Of course, because that’s you. Mister Traditional,” Xael grumbled under her breath. “Fine, I’ll bite. What are the names?”

“Gertrude if it’s a girl, Horace if it’s a boy.” Edmund said.

Xael sputtered, snickering before she could stop herself. “Absolutely not.”

Edmund looked almost comically surprised. “What?”

“I’m not going to curse our child with either of those names, thank you,” She crossed her arms. “Besides, you’ve told me about your aunt and grandfather. You said you were glad they died before I had to meet them.”

“They’re family.” Edmund said defensively. 

“Your family is awful,” Xael snapped her fingers when Edmund whirled around to her with a glare. “I’m quoting you! You’ve told me this! Many times!”

“It’s still tradition.” Edmund said stubbornly.

“We can start a new tradition. Isn’t that what you wanted? To break away from your family and what they stood for?” Xael asked.

Edmund scoffed, and it sounded surprisingly mean for him. “And what new tradition do you propose?”

“Not giving our children shitty names.” Xael said, expecting for him to break his serious facade and laugh if she was lucky, or maybe sigh if the joke fell flat. 

She _didn’t_ expect for him to slam the drawer and turn to her with a furious expression. Xael stiffened, a flash of fear going through her even though she knew it was Edmund, her _husband_ , who felt bad when he stepped on bugs. 

Edmund blinked, suddenly looking confused and wary. Before Xael could do anything, he had already stormed out.

She was fairly certain her nausea wasn’t from the baby at that moment.

*** *** ***

“That is the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.” Adira said, looking sideways at the sparsely feathered baby raven waddling on the table, peeping insistently. 

“He’s ugly in a cute way,” Xael said, reaching out and gently stroking the raven. “Like a baby.”

Quirin glanced at her sideways. “ _You’re_ having a baby.”

“They grow out of being ugly,” Xael said. “Most of the time. Unless you’re Hector.”

Hector rolled his eyes, not even looking up from sharpening his sword. Xael chuckled at her own joke anyway, and then frowned. “I’m probably just imagining things but...does Edmund seem…” She paused, searching for a word that didn’t give away her anxieties. “...strange, to anyone else?”

The Brotherhood exchanged glances, and Xael felt worse.

“He’s probably just nervous about the baby-” Quirin said, but Adira interrupted.

“Maybe he’s going nuts because of the Moonstone.” She said, displaying her utter lack of bedside manner, and not for the first time either.

Xael blinked. “ _No seas ridícula_. What does the Moonstone have to do with any of this? It’s a rock. A very weird, somewhat creepy rock, but a rock.”

Hector chuckled. “I keep forgetting that you don’t know anything.”

“Then enlighten me.” Xael snapped.

Quirin frowned. “Maybe we should-”

“The Moonstone causes whoever’s the crowned ruler of the Dark Kingdom to go nuts,” Adira said. “That’s why Edmund’s family is the worst ever.”

“It’s a legend,” Quirin said quickly. “A legend to explain why people are bad. Magic as opposed to complicated morality questions.”

“Edmund’s not like them.” Xael said firmly.

“The Moonstone is very dangerous, though,” Hector said. “You haven’t been in the chamber, have you?”

“Of course not,” Xael said. “I’m not stupid.”

“Could’ve fooled me. But anyway, I found the door to it cracked the other night. No one was in there, but…” Hector scowled. “I don’t like it.”

The baby raven peeped, suddenly making a beeline for the edge of the table. Xael yelped, scooping him up quickly. “Do you have a death wish?!” She still scratched carefully under his chin, smiling when he peeped happily. “Yes, yes, _yo también te quiero_ , Hamuel. Even if you’re not the brightest.”

They had forgotten about it then, devolving into small talk and sometimes traded insults, but Xael still couldn’t rid herself of the worry that had now made a home in her heart.

*** *** ***

Xael retroactively took back her statement of babies being ugly the second she held her son. 

Truthfully, through the entire ordeal, she had never connected the two dots between her being pregnant and her being a mother. She had certainly never pictured herself as a mother, and every preparation and discussion of it felt like it was happening to someone else. 

But here she was now, holding a red-faced baby, feeling utterly and completely unprepared. And more than a little scared. But mostly she was focused on how much she loved this tiny baby already, and wondered vaguely how it was possible to love someone so quickly.

A smile spread across her face before she had even realized it, holding the baby even closer, half scared he would shatter like glass, he was so little. “ _Qué suerte, tienes mi nariz._ ” She whispered, and the baby cooed.

“Congratulations, Your Majesty.” The midwife said, a tall woman with deep smile lines and kind eyes.

Xael glanced up to thank her, and then paused. “Where...where’s Edmund?”

The midwife paused, looking unsure. “We…” She coughed, looking nervous. “We couldn’t find him.”

*** *** ***

“You’re doing this for attention,” Xael said, pacing the endless halls of the castle long after the sun had set, rocking her son. “And I’m only indulging you.”

The baby cooed innocently, as if he had never stayed up crying until sunrise. Xael sighed, rubbing her eyes. “Don’t make that face at me.”

Still walking steadily, she sang softly, an old lullaby from home she barely remembered the words to and couldn’t remember where she had heard it. Had her own mother sang it to her when she was a baby, before sickness took most of her home? It was a nice thought. She hoped so.

The baby calmed, and Xael silently tallied her victory, glad that at least she had one trick to make him fall asleep and give herself some rest. If only for a few hours. 

The line verse died on her lips when she saw a soft blue glow coming from the open door of the Moonstone chamber. 

Her heart leapt to her chest, and she immediately grabbed a heavy, decorative sword from a set of display armor standing in the corner. She had never been in the chamber before, and hadn’t ever really desired to outside of a vague curiosity. Edmund had warned her at length when they were first married how dangerous it was, and she could tell he wasn’t exaggerating. Edmund rarely exaggerated. 

But someone was in there now. 

She took a breath, and ducked around the corner, pausing just at the threshold of the chamber to peak in.

It was Edmund, staring at the Moonstone, his back to her, blocking the stone from her view.

The sword slipped from her grasp, clattering loudly to the floor, and the baby woke up and started crying. Edmund whirled around, a strange look in his eyes that couldn’t possibly be from the reflection of the Moonstone. “Who’s there?!”

Xael backpedaled, shushing the baby desperately, but Edmund was already out of the chamber, glaring at her furiously. “What the hell are you doing?!”

“I-I…” Xael swallowed, trying to catch her breath. “H-he was crying, I was just trying to get him to fall asleep. Why…” She steadied herself, watching Edmund hastily close the doors to the chamber. “Is this where you’re always disappearing to? Where you’re always hiding out?”

“It’s my business where I choose to spend my time.” Edmund said shortly. 

“Except for when you miss the birth of our son because of it.” Xael snapped.

Edmund’s scowl deepened, if it was possible. “And what about you? Horace can’t go in there, it’s dangerous-”

“His name isn’t Horace,” Xael said. “I never agreed to that.”

“Oh, not this again…”

“Yes, this again! You can’t just decide the name of our son, especially if the name you like is awful!”

“It’s tradition-”

“Is it tradition to pull away?” Xael said, her voice rising. “I thought you wanted to be better than your family-”

Edmund suddenly swung around to face her, and Xael backed up so quickly she nearly fell. “I AM YOUR KING!” He roared. “You will _not_ disrespect me like this!”

The hall was silent except for the crying baby. Edmund scowled, looking slightly out of breath, though Xael didn’t know why. 

“And stop that noise,” He said, turning away and stalking down the hall. “It’s driving me insane.”

*** *** ***

Xael had watched many women die under their husbands, though not physically.

Something happened to them, as if their men drained them like vampires. They became smaller, almost ghost-like, devoid of any spark and defined by the whims of their husband. It scared Xael horribly, and she always counted herself among the luckiest that she had Edmund instead of a leech.

But here she was, now. And whether the Moonstone turned him into a leech or the leech had always been there and decided only now to rear its ugly head, she didn’t know or care. All she knew was she would not allow herself to be resigned to a fate of smallness, and would die before she condemned her son to that as well.

So there was really only one thing to do.

Ironically, the night she was awake was the one night her son was sleeping, though that made it easier. She sifted through her bulging bag one last time, stocked mostly with her own valuables that she planned to sell once they were far enough away. Technically, she wasn’t stealing them, Edmund had given them to her or they were hers when she became queen. 

The halls were dark and long, and felt more foreboding than they ever had. Xael barely dared to breath, afraid she would alert someone or wake her baby. She kept her mind on her plan, refusing to dwell on her guilt and fear lest she cave under it.

“Xael?”

She whirled around, her heart skipping a few beats when she saw Quirin staring at her, looking confused. “What are you…” He trailed off, taking in her bag, her less than regal clothes, and the soundly sleeping baby. Realization dawned on his face.

Xael felt dizzy. “Quirin,” She whispered, her voice tremulous. “Please.”

For what felt like an eternity, the two stared at each other. Then Quirin slowly nodded, looking at the ground. Xael hesitated for only a moment before darting past him, staring straight ahead.

The sun rose on a queenless kingdom.

*** *** ***

“No, no, no,” Xael said impatiently, struggling to keep her temper with this stupid vendor. “This is gold, it’s worth at least two hundred.”

The vendor scowled at her, turning over a delicate golden necklace in his hand. “You’re not giving me gold nuggets, lady,” He said. “It’s pretty, but that’s about it. Fifty, take it or leave it.”

Her baby suddenly let out a piercing cry, and Xael winced slightly, her head pounding. “You can’t give me any more? I’ve got a mouth to feed.”

“Hey, so do I,” The vendor shrugged. “This isn’t a charity.”

Xael muttered a string of Spanish curses under her breath, though the vendor didn’t seem to hear. “I’ll buy that ring, though.” He said, nodding at her hand.

“My…?” Xael swallowed hard, glancing at her wedding ring. It was a delicate silver band, with a beautiful opal in the center that sparkled and changed colors in the light. An unexpected wave of grief overtook Xael, and she suddenly would have given anything to be home again, back in the past before everything went so horribly wrong.

“Tell you what,” The vendor said, blind to her dilemma. “I’ll give you three hundred for the ring and the necklace together.”

Xael took a breath, tearing her eyes away from the ring and slipping it off before she could reconsider. “Deal.” She said, handing to the vendor. 

She wasn’t a queen anymore, and you can’t eat memories.

*** *** ***

Xael’s stomach growled painfully, and she winced, trying to ignore how her tent was lopsided. She didn’t remember it being this difficult when she had been alone on the road, but palace life must have made her soft. Money ran out quickly, far more quickly than it usually did, but there was the baby to consider there. Even the cheapest necessities piled up quickly, and Xael was utterly alone and unprepared with motherhood, especially motherhood on the run.

There was one thing she _did_ know she could do, something that had given her a bit of a reputation back home in Andalusia. 

Her baby whined, and Xael picked him up gently. “I…” She swallowed, knowing the baby didn’t understand her explanation. It was for her own conscience. “I need to leave. I’ll be right back. We...we don’t have any money. I’m out of things to sell. And no one’s going to hire me for a job if I have a baby. I just…” She took a long breath. “I need to get some money. And I can’t take you with me. It’s too dangerous for you.”

Her baby cooed, and Xael took his tiny hand. “Roque...maybe that’s a good name. Or Mateo. _Te gusta Mateo?_ ” She managed to smile when he babbled happily, grabbing her finger. “ _Seguiré intentando._ I’ll think of a good name, I promise.”

She shifted, holding him close. “You’ll take a nap, and I’ll be right there when you wake up. _Te prometo, cariño_. Everything will be fine.”

She closed her eyes, quietly singing his lullaby, feeling guilty for a million things, but mostly that it had come to this. That she had nothing else to give other than a song.

He fell asleep quickly, as he always did, but Xael didn’t stop singing for a long time.

*** *** ***

The jewelry store was an easy target, and it would have been even easier if she had something to pick the lock with. Alas, a rock to the window would have to do. 

It was night, and the owner had left long ago, and Xael was in the shadows, simply trying to work up the courage. It wasn’t as though she didn’t know what to do. This was hardly her first offense. But she had never had so much to lose before.

A dog barked in the distance, and Xael winced, suddenly realizing she didn’t know how long she had been standing there. She didn’t have all night. She needed to get back to her baby. 

She took a deep breath, and threw the rock with all her might at the glass window. 

*** *** ***

“Hey, shut up for a second.” Nathan said, elbowing his brother.

Everett scowled. “What? I was just talking-”

“No, sh,” Nathan pulled his mule to a stop. “Do you hear that?”

Everett stopped his mount as well, and strained his ears, listening to the woods. He heard owls, crickets, and-

“Is that a baby crying?” Everett asked incredulously. 

The brothers glanced at each other, and promptly set off into the woods, following the faint but insistent crying. Soon, they came upon a pitiful campsite, a tiny baby screaming inside a collapsed tent.

“Oh shit!” Nathan said, immediately dismounting. 

“Hey, you can’t swear around kids!” Everett scolded. 

Nathan rolled his eyes. “He’s a baby, he’s not gonna remember this. What’s he doing way out here?”

Everett frowned. “Do you think someone abandoned him?”

“Oh no, I think you’re right…” Nathan frowned, hesitantly picking the baby up. The baby continued to wail. “Hey, we passed an orphanage a few miles back, right?”

“Oh, yeah! What was the name of it, Fitzherbert?” Everett frowned. “Something like that.”

“Come on,” Nathan said. “If we hurry we can get there in less than an hour.”

*** *** ***

Xael gasped, frantically stuffing the jewelry into the many pockets lining her coat. The shopkeeper shrieked at her, calling for help.

As it turned out, the owner hadn’t left. They simply lived in a flat above and had a very large, very loud dog that had no qualms about snitching on her.

She heard shouts in the night, and rounded a corner, stumbling into a now empty blacksmith shop. Two swords hung on the wall, managing to shine in the moonlight. Xael hesitated, and then ripped them off the wall. She had already damned herself, she may as well go down fighting.

She sprinted through the streets, wincing when she saw a few stray guards leaking out of buildings. Where there was one, there were many. She had learned that long ago. If she could make it to the woods, she could hide and take cover and make her way back. She just had to be smart about it.

A guard charged her, unwisely. Xael dropped to the ground, skidding across the cobblestone to slide into his legs and trip him, and then standing up again in one fluid motion. Another swung his sword with a shout, and she met it with two blades, using her whole body to force him backwards. 

She chopped at a lighted lamp post, and when the embers inside spilled out, she kicked them at the guards, scattering tiny fires everywhere before taking off again. She ducked into a corner, and grinned when she saw the edge of the forest looming ahead. She was nearly there-

White hot pain suddenly flashed across her face, and Xael screamed before she could stop herself, stumbling back. She dropped the swords, clutching her face, feeling her hands pool with blood. Loose jewelry clinked on the ground, glinting slightly. Xael screamed again, and then forced herself to cut it off, because that only made the pain worse. She couldn’t tell where the wound even ended. It seemed to go on forever. 

“Surrender now.” A harsh, deep voice commanded, and Xael forced away the buzzing in her ears to see a massive man looming over her. He must have been the captain, based on his uniform. 

“Go to hell-” Xael started, and then hissed in pain when the curse lit her face up with agony. 

The man’s eyes narrowed, and he stepped forward, raising his sword. Xael scrambled, just managing to snatch her stolen sword to parry the attack, and then rolled out of the way and shakily to her feet, trying to ignore the feeling of blood running down her face like a river. It was a miracle he didn’t take her eye out. 

The man huffed, swinging at her again, and Xael struggled to keep up, dizzy from pain and hunger. He had at least a foot and a half on her, and a cold determination in his eyes. Xael gasped, trying to keep away panic. Panic never did her any favors. She couldn’t afford to spiral now.

There were shouts behind her, and Xael felt heat against her back. The man’s gaze left her for just a moment, looking surprised, and she could see something bright and orange flicker in the reflection of his eyes. The embers she kicked must have started a fire.

She didn’t have time to reflect on her actions. Throwing herself forward, she kicked him in the stomach as hard as he could. When he doubled over with a moan, she jerked her knee up, driving it into his face and trying to ignore the way his nose buckled under the pressure.

The man gave a gargled shriek, and Xael disappeared into the woods, leaving behind a blaze.

*** *** ***

It took her hours to get back to camp.

It shouldn’t have, but she was exhausted and dizzy. The jewelry she had held onto felt like lead, and her face tingled painfully. She had managed to catch her reflection in the stream, and then wished she hadn’t.

The gash started at the left side of her forehead and then went diagonally, across her nose and down to her lip. The right side of her lip was torn open, making any words or sounds an excruciating process. _There goes my nose,_ Xael thought, a bit hysterically.

She made it to the lopsided tent, and practically stumbled inside, collapsing onto a dirty blanket, taking long, slow breath. “ _Lo siento, cariño..._ ” She muttered, managing not to gasp when the words stung, reaching into the basket that served as her baby’s shitty crib-

There was nothing there. 

Instantly, all exhaustion left her, replaced with a freezing terror. “ _Cariño?!_ ” She said, this time letting out a small noise of pain at the more panicked call, though she quickly brushed it aside. “Hello?!”

She tore the tent apart in seconds, stupidly thinking that maybe he might have escaped her notice inside it. When that proved unfruitful, she used her pilfered blades to tear apart the shrubbery around her, shrieking for her son, not caring that it caused blood to spill down her face anew.

Jewelry spilled from her pockets, but she didn’t care. It wasn’t worth anything anymore. 

Xael had no idea how long she carried on her frenzied search, but the swords slipped from her grasp uselessly. Surrounded by mangled plants, empty riches, and an emptier basket, Xael sunk to her knees, and screamed.

And when her throat and face were raw from screaming, she sobbed, the tears mixing with blood, slurring apologies in Spanish, English, and grief. 

*** *** ***

“What are you humming?” Rapunzel asked.

Eugene glanced up from loading the caravan, their soon-to-be new home for a while as they chased black rocks. “I was humming?”  
“Yeah. It sounded nice. Kinda sad, but nice,” Rapunzel looked at him curiously. “What was it?”

Eugene paused, and then shrugged. “I dunno. I think it’s some kind of lullaby. I don’t remember the words. Or where I heard it.”

“Well, it’s nice,” Rapunzel smiled. “Maybe we’ll come across it on the trip!”

Eugene chuckled. “Stranger things have happened,” He patted the side of the caravan, already covered in Rapunzel’s intricate art. “Ready to explore the world, Sunshine?”

Rapunzel’s face lit up as though she really was her nickname. “More than anything.”

**Author's Note:**

> i like to think that if things had gone not horribly, xael would have been a mom like eda the owl lady from owl house except slightly more responsible. eugene would turn out exactly the same except with no criminal record. it's fate.
> 
> hey disney why is this lady wearing gay earrings in her portrait huh. you trying to tell me something. straight women do not wear earrings that size
> 
> and yeah, my girl fights like ahsoka tano because i still have star wars brainrot but no motivation to do anything with it


End file.
